The nitty-gritty!

Customers going to the Canada Day event in Cloverdale can take the 320 at Surrey Central Bay 2; 12 additional shuttles will leave Cloverdale following the fireworks.

“Saturday” late night trips will operate for the 319, 320 and 321 to connect with the last train from Waterfront to King George.

To accommodate Canada Day festivities across the region, there will be increased frequency or minor detours on some routes, including multiple routes in downtown Vancouver and the 135, 160, 209, 210, 211, 240, 246, 250, 250A,257, 320, C43 and C47.

Canada Line will operate Sunday/holiday hours and service, plus:

“Rush-hour” service will begin in the afternoon, with every available train in service after the fireworks in downtown Vancouver to clear people out of the area as quickly as possible.

The last Canada Line train will leave Waterfront for Richmond-Brighouse at 1:15 a.m.

Sunday/holiday start time of 7:08 a.m. from King George, 7:15 a.m. from Lougheed and 7:50 a.m. from Waterfront. The last train will leave from Waterfront at 1:16 a.m. and arrive at King George at 1:55 a.m.

Trains will run more frequently starting mid-afternoon.

SeaBus will provide extra and extended service:

First sailing: Lonsdale Quay at 8:02 a.m. and Waterfront at 8:16 a.m.

Last sailing: Leaves Waterfront at 1:22 a.m.

Services will operate every 30 minutes from 8:00 to 10:15 a.m., every 15 minutes from 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 p.m. and every 30 minutes from 11:30 p.m. to the last sailing at 1:22 a.m.

West Coast Express and TrainBus service will not operate. AirCare Inspection Centres will also be closed.

Need more help?

To make sure you get where you need to go on time, you can plan your trip with our Trip Planner. You can also call Customer Information at 604.953.3333 or tweet them @TransLink, 6:30 a.m. to 11:30 p.m.

Each month we bring you a different illustration on the cover of the Buzzer and this time, we had the privilege of working with Katie So for the June 2014 issue! If you haven’t seen it, be sure to check out the PDF or the Buzzer post.

She graciously took time out of her busy schedule to answer a few questions for us:

1. Who is Katie So? Katie is an illustrator and cartoonist from Vancouver.

2. How did you come up with your illustration for the Buzzer?
I was inspired by trips to the beach, and how everyone looks so nice in their summer outfits.

3. Do you take transit? If so, what’s your favourite mode?
I like the Canada Line because it’s clean and efficient.

4. What’s your favourite colour and why?
Right now, I really like pinks and reds because roses and peonies are in bloom.

5. Peer into your crystal ball, and tell us what you see for yourself in the future.
I hope to be sitting on the beach, suntanning and reading a book.

Links and tidbits is our semi-regular roundup of interesting fodder about transportation from the last few weeks or so. If you have links to contribute, put them in the comments, or email us.

» HUM Canada recently orchestrated a music flash mob singing songs such as Bruno Mars’ “Just the Way You Are” to spread joy and happiness on the Canada Line.

» Anat found this pin in a consignment shop in Vancouver and tweeted it to @TransLink. Fred Cummings, President and General Manager, British Columbia Rapid Transit Company says the pin was made in the early 1990s, but was not made for a specific event. It was a standard lapel pin for visitors.

» @WeAreHub noticed there are 86 spots in the brand-new Secure Bike Parking facility at Main Street-Science World Station. The facility is of course located close by to the Expo 86 grounds. Coincidence?!?

» Nethangi lost her Samsung Galaxy S3 on the bus so she contacted our folks at the Lost Property Office. There she was reunited with her phone! Her friend, Nadheera, snapped the photograph.

» Speaking of the Lost Property Office… Oh, look, an old farebox!

» Our West Coast Express signage at Waterfront Station caught the eye of George Takei, better known as Hikaru Sulu of the USS Enterprise!

» In Sweden, researchers are proposing water buses as a way to ease congestion in Stockholm and other waterfront cities.

» China is contemplating building a high-speed railway that will connect China to North America. The line would would start in northeastern China, travel over Sibera towards the Bering Strait, travel underneath the Pacific Ocean through a tunnel to Alaska, to Canada and then continental United States.

» Everybody knows the rules on transit — you don’t talk or make eye contact with strangers. Two behavioural scientists in Chicago did an experiment and asked a few commuters to break these rules in exchange for a $5 Starbucks gift card. The results? Those who talked to a stranger had a more positive experience.

» In King County, there’s a book club for transit riders! A new book is chosen by Books on the Bus each quarter for members to read during their commute. (Thanks @mdiane_rogers!)

If you see something, while riding transit, say something! Through the app’s built-in text messaging function, users will be able to discreetly report non-emergency issues to Transit Police dispatch. There is no need to draw attention to yourself and you don’t have to wait to report crime on transit.

The OnDuty app’s Crime Maps feature will allow you to view crime hotspots along the transit system. Transit Police will be updating crime maps section weekly, so you can have a better, up-to-date understanding of where and when crime occurs.

Stay connected to the Transit Police’s Twitter and Facebook pages and real-time alerts will keep you informed about public safety concerns, missing persons or major service disruptions. You will also be able to access TransLink’s Next Bus and Trip Planner features directly from the app!

The OnDuty app, for iOS and Android devices, is free and is now available in the App Store and Google Play.

But for #WhatsTheLink this week, we’re going to what we’re famous for — transit! We shared with you a number of Metro Vancouver transit photos from yesteryear and introduced you to our transit superheroes, the 99 B-Line, SeaBus, and SkyTrain.

How are they transit superheroes? The 99 B-Line is one of the busiest bus routes in North America, with nearly 17 million boardings in 2012. The SeaBus moves six million people each year across the Burrard Inlet between Downtown Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver. And SkyTrain? It’s on-time 95 per cent of the time!

Boya’s knowledge about TransLink is quite impressive! In his project, he highlights TransLink’s history and its importance as well as the different transit services TransLink offers including buses, SeaBus, SkyTrain, and West Coast Express.

As he points out in his project, TransLink helps connect people and make the region a better place to live.

The Downtown Bus Service Review began in summer 2013 and is just wrapping up Phase 2.

Hi Buzzer readers – a big thank you to everyone who participated in Phase 2 of the Downtown Bus Service Review! More than 300 of you attended the open houses in April and provided us with close to 1,000 completed questionnaires in-person and online.

The upside of receiving such great input is that we heard about issues and opportunities that are so important to the community. The other side of the coin is that with all these new ideas to consider and reasons to reanalyze some options, the team needs to take more time to provide recommendations.

More time? Yep more time. We are working closely with our partners at the City of Vancouver and really appreciate your continued enthusiasm for this project.

While we continue our technical work to identify the best possible solutions to the issues raised during consultation, we want to share what we heard with you. See the Consultation Summary for more details.

Stay tuned for Phase 3 — where we’ll present the final results of the review.

For anyone who missed our earlier posts on this process, more details can be found here and here.

10,000 customers participated in Compass Card Beta test, and 80,000 Compass cards are now in circulation.

Moved an estimated 233.9 million transit passengers in 2013.

2013 TransLink Annual Report

2013 Annual Report

TransLink’s Annual Reports highlight the accomplishments of each fiscal period. The Reports are prepared under the direction of the Board of Directors. Each report contains performance measures, selected by the Board, as well as a consolidated Financial Report.

Questions and Answers

Due to time constraints, we were unable to get to many of the online questions, but fear not! We have gotten you the answers!

Please note: questions may have been edited for clarity.

Why aren’t there power outlets on the buses and SkyTrain? There are power outlets on the SeaBus and West Coast Express, so why can’t they be on the buses and SkyTrain as well? In the US, there are power outlets on every single bus, so why can’t that happen here? –Richard via email

Convenient outlets on SkyTrain cars and buses are not considered necessary most passenger trips are short – the typical passenger trip is about 17 minutes. The cost of putting in the wiring and outlets in an already crowded space would likely be significant. Furthermore, electronic devices plugged into power outlets are likely to be an obstacle for the smooth flow of the heavy traffic in and out of SkyTrain cars.

I would like to know if you [TransLink executives] regularly use public transit in the Metro Vancouver area? This will tell me if you are aware firsthand what issues us transit commuters are faced with. –Chris via email

All executives at TransLink do frequently use transit, particularly when traveling to meetings around the region.

On June 16, 2009 the Golden Ears Bridge and 14-kilometre road network opened to traffic, making today it’s fifth birthday! At the time, it was one of the most significant improvements to the Metro Vancouver road network since the opening of the Alex Fraser Bridge. It was also the first electronic toll system in Western Canada.

In honour of the fifth anniversary, we wanted to share some interesting facts that you may not know and show you some ‘baby’ pictures of the bridge.

What’s with the eagles?

An eagle on one of the towers

The eagle was chosen as a symbol for the bridge and it is displayed on project signs, on the bridge towers, in concrete etchings on some ramps and at the project gateways in Surrey and Pitt Meadows.

Why was the eagle chosen as the symbol, you ask? The Golden Ears is the name of the summit north of the Golden Ears Bridge. The peaks look down on the bridge, and their original name was allegedly “Golden Aeries”, referring to nests of Golden Eagles that live on Canada’s Pacific coast.

Bridge trivia

Taken July 2008

Here’s a look at the different parts that make up the Golden Ears Bridge, which is a cable-stayed bridge in case you were curious:

Attention Buzzer readers…do you recall a few posts ago where we told you about Phase 1 and Phase 2 of the Northeast Sector Area Transit Plan? Well, Phase 3 begins today – June 16!

In Phase 1, you shared your thoughts on the key issues and opportunities for transit in your community. Then in Phase 2, you helped us shape the long-term transit vision in the Northeast Sector. Now we invite you to provide feedback on proposed changes that will help achieve the vision for the transit network in Anmore, Belcarra, Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody.

To get involved, you can complete an online survey or drop by one of six community events to get more information. The survey will be available until July 14, 2014.

We love Chris’ third take on a bus. What can’t he do with a bus anyway? Here are Chris’ answers to my questions about his work and himself:

1. Who is Chris von Szombathy?

I’m a visual/audio artist and designer living in Vancouver.

2. This is the second time you’ve drawn a bus for the print Buzzer. What’s with you and buses?

I love trying to take objects that are mechanical or complex and attempting to distill them down to just the visual elements that make them recognizable. Satisfying. I’ll probably do a third if you ask me to.

3. How does this illustration compare to your first illustration for the Buzzer?

This one was much harder. The first illustration was depicting an occasion, which is much easier to do. This assignment was a bit more abstract.

4. Do you take transit? If so, what’s your favourite mode?

I do take transit, and my favourite is definitely the SkyTrain. Expo 86! Futuristic!

5. What’s your favourite colour and why?

Right now pinkish grey. I find it comforting and still forward thinking.

6. Peer into your crystal ball, and tell us what you see for yourself in the future.

Beginning June 13, SkyTrain will single track between Gateway and King George stations on Friday evenings from 11 p.m. until end of service to allow crews to replace the rail clips and pads on that section of the guideway. Customers can expect delays of approximately five minutes during this time.

The work is expected to continue until the end of 2014, but it will be cancelled for major events like the Celebration of Lights and large concerts.

Expo Line passengers may experience minor delays throughout the system and Millennium Line operations will not be affected.

We appreciate your patience as we complete this essential maintenance work!

It is that time of year again Buzzer readers – summer service changes are here! So check your route and plan for your activities on June 23 and beyond. To celebrate, we are hosting a contest* with 5 cool prize packages. How do you play? Visit our Facebook page each weekday morning from June 9 until July 7 after 9 am for a clue to where the image of the Penguin is hiding. Once you find the penguin on our service changes page, click the image to enter the contest. Good luck!

Highlights:

The NEW 503 Express bus serves Langley and Aldergrove with connections to Surrey Central.

The 502 has been redesigned to operate between Surrey Central Station and Langley Centre, with limited peak-hour trips to/from Brookswood.

Expanded 178 service which responds to customer feedback to better meet customer demand. The portion of the route operating between Noon’s Creek and Johnson now runs on Panorama Dr. instead of on David Ave.

What is making summer travel better?

Additional buses will complement the regular 19 trips, increasing frequency between West Pender St. and Cambie St. to Stanley Park.

Changes to the 5 to accommodate the City of Vancouver’s closure of 800 Robson at Robson Square.

Routes 4, 6, 7, 10, 14, 16, 17, 20 and 50 will detour to accommodate the Granville Mall closures during summer weekends for the City of Vancouver’s Summer Open Streets program.

Two 620 trips each hour, up from one per hour.

SeaBus service increases to every 15 minutes.

For more information, check out the upcoming print Buzzer and Service Changes page. Check your route before you go!

#WhatsTheLink

The #WhatsTheLink series is all about what TransLink is responsible for in Metro Vancouver and some little known facts about what we do. TransLink is responsible for transit, but our mandate also includes roads, bridges, cycling and walking paths.